Three centuries that redrew the map: conquistadors in Tenochtitlan, the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock, tea in Boston Harbor and the first flight at Versailles. Ten questions on the age of exploration and revolution.
Every question in this quiz, with the correct answer and the story behind it. Open it after you've played — or use it as a study sheet before you do.
Answer: 1799
Discovery of the Rosetta Stone — 1799. The Rosetta Stone's three scripts (hieroglyphic, Demotic, Greek) unlocked 1,400 years of lost Egyptian history when Champollion cracked the code in 1822.
Answer: Plymouth Colony Settlement
Plymouth Colony Settlement came first, in 1627. Only 53 of 102 Mayflower passengers survived the first winter—the colony's survival depended on Squanto teaching them to fertilize corn with fish.
Answer: 1776
Washington Crossing the Delaware — 1776. Washington crossed in a nor'easter storm on Christmas night 1776, surprising Hessian forces at Trenton when the Continental Army was near collapse.
Answer: Great Fire of London at Pudding Lane
Great Fire of London at Pudding Lane came first, in 1666. The Great Fire burned for four days and destroyed 87 churches including Old St. Paul's—but only six verified deaths were recorded.
Answer: 1519
Cortés Arrives in Tenochtitlan — 1519. Tenochtitlan had 200,000-400,000 residents on an island with canals—conquistadors compared it to Venice before destroying it to build Mexico City.
Answer: Mayflower Landing at Plymouth Rock
Mayflower Landing at Plymouth Rock came first, in 1620. The Pilgrims aimed for the Hudson River but storms forced them to Cape Cod—Plymouth Rock wasn't identified as the landing site until 121 years later.
Answer: 1783
Montgolfier Brothers' First Animal Flight at Versailles — 1783. The world's first aerial passengers were a sheep (named 'climb-to-the-sky'), duck, and rooster—they flew 8 minutes and landed safely 2 miles away.
Answer: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London came first, in 1600. The Globe burned down during a 1613 performance of Henry VIII when a theatrical cannon misfired and ignited the thatched roof.
Answer: 1773
Boston Tea Party — 1773. Colonists destroyed 342 chests of tea worth $1.7 million today—protesting the British East India Company's monopoly, not high taxes.
Answer: Michelangelo Painting the Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Michelangelo Painting the Sistine Chapel Ceiling came first, in 1510. Michelangelo didn't paint lying on his back—he stood on scaffolding painting overhead, causing severe neck and back pain for four years.
The same 10 questions as a photocopiable worksheet — tick boxes, no answers on the student pages, and a teacher answer key with explanations and marking bands on its own sheet. Free, no sign-up, A4 and US Letter.
Printable Exploration & Revolution worksheet + answer keyThe same period, played against a clock: 20 seconds a question, a streak multiplier and a personal best that sticks. No sign-up, no answer key to peek at.
10 documented moments, in order. Each one is also a playable 360° round in the game.
10 multiple-choice questions, each with four options. Most ask you to date an event; the rest ask which of four events happened first. You get the correct answer and a short explanation the moment you answer, and the full answer key is published further down this page.
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no account and no email required. Your score appears as soon as you finish, and you can retake the quiz as many times as you like.
It spans 1510 to 1799 and draws on 10 documented events, including Michelangelo Painting the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Mayflower Landing at Plymouth Rock, Boston Tea Party. Conquistadors, colonists and revolutionaries — 1500 to 1800.
Anything above 6 out of 10 puts you in History Buff territory. 8 or more earns Grand Historian, and a perfect 10/10 makes you a Time Lord. Under 40% is a Tourist — worth another run once you've read the answer key.
Every question is built from the same historical events used in the HistoryGuesser game — real, dated moments with a documented place and year. Nothing is AI-invented at question time: dates, places and facts come from a fixed, hand-checked event library, so the quiz is identical each time you load it.